Ali's Pond Local Nature Reserve (or just Ali's Pond) is, a Local Nature Reserve

Local Nature Reserve

Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...

 close to the village of Sonning

Sonning

Sonning, occasionally called Sonning-on-Thames is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham in the English county of Berkshire, a few miles east of Reading. The village is situated on the River Thames and was described by Jerome K...

 on the Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 bank of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 in southern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Located at the foot of Sonning Hill

Sonning Hill

Sonning Hill is a hill near the village of Sonning in Berkshire, England, close to the River Thames.- Local area :The Sonning Cutting takes the Great Western Railway through part of the hill between Twyford and Reading. There was an early railway accident at Sonning Cutting on 24 December...

, the reserve was established in 1997 by Alastair Driver (hence the name) from Sonning, who acts as the warden. The area is laid out with paths and large ponds.

The UK headquarters of two major software companies, Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 and Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...

 are located close to the reserve on the Thames Valley Park

Thames Valley Park

Thames Valley Park is a high-tech business park adjacent to the River Thames on the eastern outskirts of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Location and companies:The park partially lies within the civil parish of Sonning...

business park.